Girls Gone Bible - Jesus & Prison w/ Emerson Nowotny | Girls Gone Bible

Episode Date: October 20, 2023

GGB GANGGGGGGG We are so excited for todays episode. We have an incredible guest-- Emerson Nowotny, lead pastor at Mosaic in Mexico City. Emerson has one of the most incredible testimonies and stories we've ever heard. A redemption story. A true example of our God being a God of 2nd chances & restoration. Emerson has us in tears multiple times while he tells us his story from having an encounter with Jesus and becoming a devout Christian at 17 years old, to losing a loved one resulting in him losing his faith, to then getting involved with drugs, women, and the cartel. He covers how he ended up in federal prison and how he kept his hope and joy through his relationship with Jesus. He then has us really in tears talking about how his beautiful wife, Christina Nowotny, HELD IT DOWN AND WAITED FOR HIM. He talks supernatural encounters and the unfailing, relentless love of God along the way. We truly hope this episode blesses you like it did us. Thank you Jesus for 2nd chances and the promise that whatever the enemy meant for evil, God will use it for good. (Genesis 50:20) Pastor Emerson & Mosaic Mexico City are currently revolutionizing Mexico and bringing so many to Jesus. We love you guys so much. Jesus loves you more. -Ang & Ari if you’d like to support Girls Gone Bible 🙏🏻🕊️🤍 Paypal- https://www.paypal.me/girlsgonebibleinfo Venmo- https://www.venmo.com/u/girlsgonebible

All right, you guys. Hi, Gigi Vigay. Hi. Today, we have such a big deal. It's our second guest of all time. I want to introduce him. He is the lead pastor in Mexico City at Mosaic. It is Emerson Nowotny. We are so grateful to have you here. Thank you so much. Such an honor. Of course. So I wanted to tell a little backstory. So two years ago at Mosaic, I went in on a Sunday morning and I saw on the little Instagram that you were going to be speaking. I had never heard of you.

I had never heard you speak. I went in there that day, not knowing what to expect. And it, your sermon, your story, your testimony rocked my world. And as soon as we, I had never met you. I had never really seen you after that or anything. And that was a couple of years ago when we started Girls Gone Bible. I had told Ari from the very beginning, there's this guy, Pastor Emerson. He is the heart of what we do.

Because there are a lot of podcasts out there that are so beautiful, who have a lot of guests and hosts who have been in the church their whole lives. Me and Ari don't come from the church. We kind of come from the streets. Where do you come from? I don't know where we come from. It's been rough for us growing up. So we're not like, and so we always wanted people who've been through things and who are going to be real and talk about drugs and jail and prison and like real like spiritual warfare and things that they've gone through and you are

the most beautiful redemption story of all time thank you so thank you it's such an honor to be here i've been listening to you guys heard pastor erwin on here it was amazing and it's so good to be here and uh i resonate with you guys know, you guys say you're from the street. I'm from the street. I'm definitely from the street. Where are you guys from? People are going to hear us from the street and be like, all right, enough. We're going to get so much heat with us by the way.

There are at least two little girls. The street's from Albania and the street's from Boston. Yeah, kind of. Honestly, yeah. But I know what you mean. I know what you mean. Yeah, we just didn't grow up in the church like that. And even when I heard your testimony, even when I connected, I felt like you guys, when I finally connected to Jesus, I still didn't feel like I connected to church.

I didn't feel like I belonged in a place like that. Even though I knew Jesus accepted me, I wasn't sure if people accepted me. And so I know what you feel. Really quick. I'm sorry we're wearing the same outfit today. We didn't mean to. I just picked her up. I can't believe it. We have a problem. We have one brain. Can I ask you, when did you finally feel safe in the church? You know what? It took a while. I think I started to create my own spaces where I would make people feel safe. And I was actually kicked out of a church where I started a place called Soul Jam, where I just get a bunch of young people to come play music and play pool.

I put a disco ball in the middle of the room and that was in San Diego. I'm originally born and raised in San Diego. And so we started that place and it was, I never really felt accepted until I met Erwin. You know, when I met Pastor Erwin, I felt like things change. And I was like, oh, there's a guy doing what I'm doing. He just knows how to back it up. Yeah. Because I was just getting arguments that I couldn't win. I didn't know how to back up what I was trying to do, but I was just trying to reach my people,

reach my friends. I didn't really want to go to the church I was going to. I came to faith in a Hispanic church, a small Hispanic church in San Diego, California. I'm Latino. Yeah.

You know, I speak Spanish. I went because of a girlfriend. And we can tell that story later on. Yeah, we're going to start from the very beginning. There's so much. I love what you just said, though, about how you didn't feel accepted in the church, but then you created your own space. I feel like the same thing happened with you and I,

where we really didn't feel accepted in the Christian community by other people until we started Girls Gone Bible. And we made this space where all the people who watch us, who also don't feel accepted by the church or don't feel like they fit, they come here and now we're accepted because they're accepted and we've created a community where we accept each other. It's a beautiful thing. Yeah. Yeah. We were talking the other day, you know, even just Paul's life and what he went through and, and everything he had to endure and still found joy, you know, inside of that. That's why, yeah. I love the book of Philippians because Paul wrote it from jail and that's when he says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And I think that's been the three of us, our story and most people out there is that by our own strength, we sometimes can't do much

because life is hard and there's a lot of darkness and there's a lot of things that we can only overcome through the strength of Jesus and through having joy through Jesus. And not depending on yourself. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So let's start from the very beginning because your story is incredible. You grew up in a house that wasn't religious. No. Right? No.

Okay. I'm first generation, born in the States, you know, born in San Diego. And that's where I'm from. And do you have siblings? Yeah. One brother named Carlos and a sister named Sarah. Are they believers? Both are.

Yeah. Beautiful. Yeah. The whole family has come to faith. It's been a beautiful thing. So the pillar of our faith is my grandma. So I wasn't raised in the Christian home, but I can remember like it was yesterday, just going to grandma's house and she had her music on, worship music on. She had her Bible open all the time. The Bible was like, her pages were ripped, you you know and just all highlighted

and i would say grandma why do you why do you always read this book yeah and she said it's mijo it's a it's alive yes and i didn't know what she meant i go alive and now i know because she's like every time i read it and she had read read it seven, eight times over in her life, and she said, it just always speaks to me differently. And that's the power of the word. 100%. I love that so much. So yeah, so she was a pillar. But my home home, father and mother, they didn't take us to church.

I didn't really know much, but I knew grandma was connected. Yeah, and her prayers came through eventually. 100%. You can see her prayers came through eventually. 100%. Right? Yeah. You can see her prayers in my testimony. So at what age did you find God? Yeah, let's get into it.

You want to go ahead? Yeah. So, okay. So at 17 years old, I thought I was Casanova, right? I was dating every girl possible in high school. I was dating every girl possible in high school. My identity was really based on relationship. And I'm a little good looking.

That's what my wife says. And so I had this ability to just date and think that was what I was supposed to do. My brother is super handsome, blue eyes, olive skin, you know, all American, just played sports his whole life. So like that was my idol. My brother was a womanizer. That's going to be me. And so through a girlfriend, I got invited to a church. And she didn't even want to go to the church.

I just called her one day and she's like, what are you doing? She's like, I'm going to church. I hate going. My mom makes me go. And I just went to see if she was telling the truth and I found Jesus so I walked into this church it had no lights it had no there was the worship was off like the drummer was crazy it was like the worst worst experience you could imagine. Yeah. Just it had no ambiance. Like there was just nothing, no LED screens. But God's presence was so thick in that place. And so I got touched by God in that small church in San Diego.

And there was maybe 30 people in the room. And it felt like a dentist's office. Like it was so bright. You know, like there was nothing cool about it. But God's presence was so real. And I remember standing there and I felt God's hand on my back. And I just began to cry. And nobody was touching me.

Nobody was forcing me. I just fell to my knees. And God's presence just surrounded me. I'm 17 years old. I had done every drug you can imagine, nothing compared to his presence. And so I'm on my knees. And when I get up, I start walking with Jesus. I never really even like officially said, I accept Jesus.

I received Jesus. Something happened. It was just like different. And so I started walking with Jesus, I started walking with God. My girlfriend was mad because I was done. I was like, I don't want to date you no more. I just want to, I mean, something supernatural happened inside of me. And all of a sudden I want to go to Bible school.

And everyone was like, you want to go to Bible school? Like, what are you doing? You know, and my dad's like, are you going to be a priest? He had no idea what was happening inside of me. That's so awesome. Yeah, yeah. So then I just, I fell in love with Jesus, forgot about not just that girlfriend, but I had a girlfriend in every high school because at that point, I had gotten kicked out of

five high schools. I just kept getting kicked out of high school because of drugs, ditching. You're a menace. Menace. And I was just looking for attention. At this point, my dad leaves. He abandoned our family. We're about 12 years old.

So I was just looking for attention, looking for a father figure, looking for friends that would accept me and I would do things I shouldn't be doing. And so yeah, I got caught smoking weed at school all the time, ditching. And then my brother started doing drugs. So then I would get them for my brother. So it was really easy for me. And he was my idol. So when I met Jesus, I left everything. Right then and there? Right then and there. Just the conviction was, it's just like you knew what to do.

Super strong. Wow. Super strong. I had the same thing. I really understand. It was like a hand on my back. You felt like it was a comfort you can't explain. I went through this.

I had the same thing as you. Yes. You had a similar story too in the sense that all of a sudden one day it's like nobody was telling you don't do this, don't do that. Because she already never had really guidance, like super strict moral guidance like that. And then all of a sudden one day she really met Jesus and was like, I have to change everything. I have to give this up. I'm giving that up. Yeah.

Yeah. And I was in a church, same as you, and everything changed from that day. It's beautiful. It's beautiful. Same as you. And everything changed from that day. It's beautiful. It's beautiful.

And so the pastor, which is still my friend in San Diego, he sat me down. He kind of helped me with my walk and was saying, hey, it's probably not that good that you have so many girlfriends. And I'm like, oh, it's good. I'm all good. I'm not going to do that no more. And I remember clearly he pulled my shirt and I had hickeys. And I felt so bad and I started to cry. And I said, I don't want to be this person. But no one told me not to be that person.

I just felt like I was empty. And now I was filled with Jesus, but I still had these marks. You know, I still had this recent past that this pastor was able to see. He didn't reject me. He didn't judge me. He just embraced me. Yes, that's like my supernatural experience with God. I met him, and I didn't know nothing about Jesus.

Didn't know nothing about the Bible. So I encountered God. It was amazing. Went to Bible school. How long was Bible school? Three years. Wow. Yeah, I went to a Horizon

Bible Institute in San Diego and studied the word there. And I was just, you know, learning. I didn't never want to, I didn't want to study. And now I want to study the word of God, which was crazy, you know? Cause I'm like, I'm not a reader. You know, I was a jock, sports, and drugs, and alcohol, and partying. That was my life. And now I'm reading. So I'm in Bible school. And then I started this place called Soul Jam that I was telling you guys about. How do I bring friends closer to Jesus that don't want to go to church because even back then I would say hey come with me and sometimes they would visit and they would just say hey it's just strange you know it was a Hispanic church they got a little emotional you know people were crying a lot it was my friends were like

so my friends were like why why why is that lady crying? And so they didn't really get it. So we started this cafe. And it was before cafes were like a thing in churches. And I didn't know what I was doing. So nobody knew what I was doing. So people didn't know how to take it. So we did this place and people were coming to Jesus.

I would literally get up and speak. I don't know what I said. It was like the Holy Spirit was within you. It's crazy because I'm sure I said bad things. I probably said things that weren't theologically correct, right? And maybe that's not even bad. It's just wasn't, I didn't know. I just was so hungry. And so when I would get up there and speak, people would receive Jesus and things were happening. And more people were coming to the cafe. So I fell in love in that coffee shop. Yeah. So this beautiful woman, beautiful girl, she would stay late and clean and help us serve.

Because it was still a nonprofit. It wasn't a church it was more of a cafe connected to this non-profit that was helping us and backing us up and she was gorgeous like you know so pretty like I couldn't go say hi yeah yeah so I would send I send my friend over nice and then he found out that she thought I was cute too. So then we're like, oh, we should talk. I'm like 20 at this point, right? I took her to see the sunset at the beach when it was a sunrise. It was a mistake. The sun came from behind us.

Oh, that's so good. It was terrible, terrible. I didn't plan it right. I don't know where the sun comes out of. So we fell in love and um we we we were dating and it was a a beautiful courtship because i had read every book that i was supposed to read to respect her you know i i had read everything to become the man of god i was supposed to be yeah and so i was doing everything right we were we were definitely not having sex. We were definitely respecting each other.

And she felt the same way. And so about, I remember like a year before everything went crazy, we sat down at a Denny's. And this is like a beautiful, I mean, beautiful, educated. We were just in love for all the right reasons. It was pure. She knew I was going to Bible school. I have a question. Did you know that traditional bedsheets can harbor more bacteria than a toilet seat?

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But my response was, can you have kids? And I knew you're a broker. I knew it was not the right question. And I knew it was a moment. It was an Emerson moment, not like godly Emerson moment, but I'm human, you know? So I'm young and I ask her a question and she falls apart, starts crying and shuts down. A year later, her dad comes to my house. We had a house in San Diego. I had bought a house and we're trying to, we're fixing it. And her dad comes and says, hey, can I talk to you? And I

said, yeah, let's talk. So he sits down with me and he says, hey, Emerson, I just want to let you know that she's dying. You know, now I don't want to say her name out of respect but she says he said she's dying she's got cancer and i said there's no way she's got cancer because she looked perfect yeah and so she got diagnosed with a really invasive cancer in her ovaries that had given her polycystic ovary disease that led to just other complications. And so things had advanced. She had tried to tell me something years before, and I didn't know how to take it. Yeah.

So now she's dying. And I was so full of faith. I'm like, hey, God's going to heal her. Yeah. There's no way she's going to die. Two weeks before my wedding, she got, she was, her body was so invaded with cancer, she died. So I lose my best friend. I lose the woman that I love.

I lose everything I had worked for. And I'm like, God, why would this happen to me? It was so hard. It was so devastating. And I remember it felt like I was dying. Because I said, how can this happen to me? You know, I'm doing everything I'm supposed to do. I read every book you told me to read.

I'm respecting her. And this happens. And to her. And so I was trying to be there for her. And I was trying to support the whole situation. She pushed me so far away from her life. And she said, I don't want you near me. You deserve better.

You know, go live your life. And so we separated, you know. She passed away. And it was devastating and so hard. I was driving in San Diego. And I remember when cell phones had just come out, I think. Or maybe I had just got it. But I had a cell phone, and my uncle calls me.

And at the moment, my uncle, a lot of my family had come to faith, and this uncle had become the pillar in our family. So he calls me, not knowing anything. He says, hey, mijo, I just made some food. It was my favorite dish, and I didn't even care about the food. I just needed someone to talk to. He lived by her house. So I went to his house and I stayed about two weeks in this closet, just dark closet, no food, no eating. I wanted to die.

It was embarrassing. My family was here from South America. My family was here from Mexico for the wedding. Everything gets canceled. And so for me, I had learned about a faith that if you follow Jesus, it's going to go awesome. I didn't really understand that if you follow Jesus, it might not go so awesome. It doesn't mean that it's going to go bad and we shouldn't speak of hey it's going to go awesome or it's going to go bad it's just life yeah you know and i didn't know how to take this life moment and so thank god i didn't commit suicide thank god i'm still here thank you because i just thought

this is it it's over for me you know um because i was also taught like there's a one, right? Yeah. There's a soulmate. There's a soulmate. There's one and you're like, I have to find her in this space of 7 billion people in this world. And so that's when I found out, I'm not sure if there's a one. I believe God can give us multiple futures and we choose and he's there, you know? Yeah.

So that's what happened in that moment that led me to what happened next because nobody ends up in prison. Nobody wakes up and is homeless. Yeah. You know, it's like you look at a homeless person, you're like, he didn't wake up there. Yeah. Something happened. person, like, he didn't wake up there.

Something happened. And you hear the story that there's something hard in their life that we can look at and see. And so for me, this incident made me upset at God. I was upset at the church, at everybody. And so I ran away so far from God, more further away than you can imagine. And every time I would run, like he was always there. Everywhere I turned, he was always there. Every moment, he was always there. And so I had an incident where I was running and running and running. I mean, we were moving drugs from San Diego to Seattle to New York to Chicago.

Yeah. Really quick. So first, we have no words. Obviously, Ari's in tears. Like, this is insane. Really quickly. So how did you, because you did get involved with the cartel, right? Yes.

And you had family members. And how did that come about? So, you know, it's like not in the movies where like a stranger comes and says, Hey, you want to be part of this? It's always through a family member. It's always through a close friend. And so for me, it was family, unfortunately, you know, because I think anyone that offers you drugs, anyone that tells you to be part of any kind of cartel is not a friend. You should never do that, you know, because it's so harmful. And so for me, you know, sometimes family just doesn't know better. And so I got into this game through uncles from Tijuana that were working with like just very strong cartels and avoid names in Tijuana that were running San Diego. And it was

just a perfect moment for me to be embraced and accepted into that world. And so all my family was like, we told you that your God was fake. Like we told you that your God's not real. What was your grandmother saying? Was she? She passed away. She had passed away. Yeah, she had passed away. Okay, okay.

But she got to see Emerson at his best. Good, good. When this incident happens to me and my fiance dies, it was so heartbreaking and so earth shattering and soul like breaking that I ran away so far. And so when I was running, I kept hearing the voices saying, your God was never real. And I became to accept that. Maybe God wasn't real. Why am I doing all this for him? Why am I abstinent now?

Why am I not doing drugs? And then everything goes bad. And so it was really, really hard, a really hard moment. So then when I, as I was running from God, it was three years of running. And so in three years, you could do a lot of damage. I was, you know, we were moving drugs from San Diego. San Diego is a, it's a border town, which has a lot of drugs and cartels. It's a springboard where drugs get pushed throughout the country.

And the further you push the drug, the more expensive it gets. A kilo of cocaine, for your listeners to know, I'm just kidding. A kilo of cocaine in San Diego is going to be a lot cheaper than a kilo of cocaine in new york yeah because new york has no border yeah and so we would push it as far as possible to make money and at first i was just dealing with money right because they trusted me i was a nephew i was a good person they even knew i was like a christian yeah right because i didn't do things that they did. Yeah, you're not going to cross anyone.

Yeah, and I still had some kind of values that were wrong, you know, but they were better. And so they trusted me with money. And so I'm traveling and bringing back $600,000, $800,000 strapped to my body. No way. We would strap our bodies with money, like lacing. On a plane? On a plane because you can't fly with more than $10,000 cash, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And back then they didn't have the security, right? What year was this? This is before 9-11. Yeah, they didn't have any of that. It was there, but it wasn't as heightened. No, yeah. So now any piece of metal, and i don't know if you guys knew but money has metal yeah so the strips of metal um uh you have to spread it you have to spread it

around your body so we were just bringing back money and i thought it's just money you know like yeah it's okay but it's never just money no you know it's dirty money it's dirty it's it's connected to other stuff yeah it's going to open other doors. Always. If it looks bad, just don't do it. You know, like period. Yeah, yeah. And so one day we flew back from New York.

A friend of ours got caught bringing, he had $60,000 on his body. They took the money and released him. So we thought, he's fine. You know, like we kind of laughed it off. Yeah. Not knowing that who doesn't go back for $60,000? Like obviously dirty money, right? Yeah.

Because if it was yours, you'd go back for $10. Yeah. Because it's hard working money. Right. And so we just didn't go back. And that's kind of where investigation started. And they started following us, tracking us. And so I just was running. I always felt

nervous. I always felt like something was happening. And towards the end, the anxiety in my life was just so bad because I knew better. So one day I'm at the gym and I'm working out and I'm like, had a meeting with my uncle in the jacuzzi because to make sure no one's wired. So weird. Wait, that's actually a good idea. No, that's what they do. That's what they do. meeting with my uncle in the jacuzzi because make sure no one's wired so weird so weird no one trusts nobody you know so i'm like in the jacuzzi with my uncle and we have a meeting we're like yeah we're gonna move this to seattle we're gonna expand this enterprise and so then i got to get out the jacuzzi and i go work out. And I'm working out and this young, like a short guy.

I always say short because he was so little. But he was light skinned and he was short. And he came up to me and he said, can I pray for you? And I'm like in the gym. And I'm like, is it my mom sent him or the DEA sent him? You know, like I was so nervous. I was so nervous. And I'm like, I'd rather myA sent him. I was so nervous. I was so nervous. And I'm like, I'd rather my mom sent him.

Because my mom now is a believer. So my mom comes to faith through my life. Some of my family comes to faith through my life. And just God started doing really beautiful things in my family. But now this tragedy that happened to me has led me so far from God. And I'm at the gym. And this guy says, can I pray for you? And I said, no.

There's no way you're praying for me. And so he says, okay. Talk to you later. And he leaves. And so then I'm done with my routine. I'm leaving the gym. And I hear my name. No.

Emerson. And I'm like, I turn around and I say, I never told him my name. So I'm like, for sure now my mom sent him. You know, like, or he for sure is like the DEA, you know. He walks up to me and says, hey, can I pray for you? So I'm thinking like, he's definitely not DEA. You know, like they're not praying for nobody. So then I said, yes. Something inside of me says, I need prayer.

I'm so far from God. I haven't seen my mom. I haven't seen my family. I was hiding. I was so just, I was actually planning to leave the country and go to Bolivia and become my own guy. So there was all these things in my head that I was like, I'm just going to go big. And everything I do in life, I'm 100. I'm a pastor now.

Everyone listening, I'm a pastor now. Calm down. Don't judge me. But I go 100 at everything I do. And so I'm 100 at this and God and church and building what we're doing. And I was 100 being bad. Yeah. And so I knew I needed prayer.

And so we walked towards my car and because I didn't want to do it too public. Right. So I go to my car and he, he's so short. He can't really even reach my shoulders to pray for me. So he kind of like grabs my stomach or my hands, like my shoulders. He was short. So he says, he says, he starts praying. He starts praying everything about my life.

Everything about my relationship with my mom, the life I was living, the anxiety I was dealing with. I was panicked because you live panic. You know, like when you live a lie, all you do is watch your back. So true. And so I couldn't ever be at peace. I was always like nervous, you know. And so the heat, I felt this peace I had never felt in so long.

So I started to cry. And I'm thinking I'm crying in the parking lot of LA Fitness in San Diego, you know. So I fall on my knees and just burst into this crazy crying moment. And I open my eyes and there's three people around me. Like I'm surrounded by three people. I don't share this a whole lot. We don't talk about supernatural stuff a whole lot. But it's real.

It happened to me. I had an experience with Jesus that moment. Like God showed up. I don't know if it was Father, Son, Holy Spirit. I don't know if it was Moses. I don't know who came down, but there was three people surrounding me. And I just, he stands me back up and it's one person and it's the little guy. And he hugs me and he says he says emerson you know exactly what you have to do yeah do it and he leaves and i get in my car and i just told myself i'm crying like i'm i'm like i have to change i have to stop this life i have to connect with my family i have to leave this i know where this is heading

and in my head another voice is just one more time just enemy as well just one more time yeah and it was so strong that one more time that i look back and i think how can how could i not listen when i just had an encounter with God? I know. We do it all the time. Like Jesus just met me. Yeah. And I just like saw something supernatural.

I don't even know what I saw. Yeah. So I get in my car and I said, okay, one more time. A week later, the DEA came knocking. It wasn't God anymore. It wasn't this experience. It was the DEAa so i got arrested with 7.6 kilos of cocaine one kilo cocaine is 10 years in federal prison and this is in san diego

yeah this is still in san diego california and so i get arrested um with 7.6 kilos so i was i was facing 17 years so in the feds they have minimum and maximum mandatories that Ronald Reagan put into place. So basically, they look at the amount of drugs you have, and then they can look at your past, and then they can connect it like just like doing math. Yeah. You know, like you're not even, you're a number now. Yeah. You know, but luckily I had no pri math. Yeah. You know, like you're not even, you're a number now. Yeah. You know, but luckily I had no priors.

Yeah. Because I met Jesus at such a young age. At 17, which is pretty young, 17, 16 years old. I had done crazy stuff before that, but nothing like this. Yeah. I'd never been arrested. I don't even think I ever had like a traffic violation. Wow.

Which helped because now I'm looking at just a drug conviction without a past. Yeah. Because what they try to do is build, oh, this guy's crazy. Yeah. And so they didn't really have a case, but they had a lot of drugs. So I ended up doing, I got sentenced to five years in federal prison. So the 10 years, my minimum was 10 and I was able to apply for five because there's a law that if you have no past and you've been a good person, this can help you.

And so they looked at my case and I got five years in federal prison. Wow. And it gets crazier. I know. But if you have any questions, ask me. Go ahead. If you have any. No, I was just

going to say like, what, like, how was it in Prince's? Did you meet him again there? And did he get you through that? 100%. You know, people say like, oh, everyone meets Jesus in prison or everyone meets Jesus in hard times. Yeah. Man, everyone meets Jesus. Like when you hit rock bottom. Yeah. I don't care where you're at. You know You know, I've never heard, I've never seen someone say like, oh, like this changed me. Like I've seen people say the power of Jesus changed me. Yeah. You know, I left, I've had left alcoholism. I left drugs.

I left this. I left that. Like that's the power of God. Yeah. You know, there's no other, there's no other name that does this, you know? Thank you. Like, you can say, like, hey, I'm an atheist. Awesome.

But I've never seen atheism change an alcoholic. Thank you. You know? We're really passionate about this. Even though I have a lot of atheist friends. Yeah, yeah yeah and i respect them absolutely agnostic atheist and they know and they and they always ask like hey i love the way you do community i love that you're part of a community like that's what they miss you know

and so for me it's the power of jesus that changed my life and so that was my moment you know so when i went to prison yeah it's crazy like can you just imagine like for a second like all your privacy is gone yeah in the federal prison you they do an eight-day evaluation okay so they see who you are so they don't put you they don't put you right away with everybody just in case like if you if you're like if you're like a child rapist or you've done things that usually you get killed in prison. So they try to actually like protect you. How do they find out?

How do people in prison? I've always wondered, how do they find out what you did? Yes, because the prison is run by prisoners. Wow. So the clerks are prisoners. So anyone taking information down is an actual prisoner. So the guards are there to watch you. And so everything else is run, everything, like plumbers, electricians,

like guards don't do that. Yeah. And a clerk, people doing intake, you'll have an officer there, but everyone doing like the hard work is an inmate. Yeah. So they see. Wow. And so they see the paperwork.

They evaluated me. So I went through an so they see the paperwork. They evaluated me. So I went through an evaluation. And the first day, I forgot about this. So I'm sitting down in my jail cell. I'd never been in jail. I'd never been in trouble. You're such a nice guy. It's like so sad.

Like, why didn't I listen to God in that car ride? Exactly. So then I'm sitting in my jail cell and I'm bawling. Like, I mean, when I'm telling you like despair, I wanted to die. Like what I went through with my fiance was death. Yeah. And now I'm in prison going, can I take more pain? I would disassociate.

Like I think I would fully like remove myself. Yeah, you can snap. Yeah. And that's what people, that's what happens. Your brain snaps. Yeah. You know, that's what I'm saying. Like people don't, they just, they don't end up crazy. Something can happen. So I'm sitting there in my, in my jail cell on my bump bed and I'm crying and I'm crying and I'm ashamed. And I, and I'm literally crying out to God saying, I can't believe I did this. I can't believe I didn't listen. And I heard God's voice tell me, I never left you. And those words kept me alive for the next five years. I never left you. Emerson, you ran. Emerson, you hid. But I was always there. And there's nothing you can do that I'm not going to show up. I felt Jesus next

to my bunk bed. So when I feel weak, I go back to the bunk bed and I say, jesus you never left me and he never will he's the best jesus we are getting wrecked today we're getting wrecked we are look at ari i'm losing my mind it's unbelievable it's unbelievable so yeah so then sorry okay can Unbelievable. Yeah. So then, sorry. Okay. Can you tell? Okay. Because before, because you met your stunning, beautiful wife, Christina. My guy has his wife's name on his chest. Always. Let's go.

Always. You guys are one of the most beautiful couples I've ever seen. Thank you. So how did that happen? Because you met your wife before. Yes. I met my wife a month before I went to prison. No way.

It's crazy. It's crazy. It's crazy. So like all my cousins in San Diego, you know, we're a big Latino family. So we're like, you know, my dude got in trouble. So I got in trouble, right? And I went to jail. Yeah. And I couldn't get bail.

And I couldn't get out. Couldn't get out. Couldn't get out. And my lawyer, she's amazing. She's a woman and she's incredible. One of the best lawyers in San Diego. She says, hey, listen, you didn't steal a pack of gum. And this is not a marijuana case.

It's cocaine. You're going to be in trouble. But I'm going to try to help you. So be patient. We're going to try to get you out because I keep hearing you're a good person. You made a mistake. Yeah. Ari, anybody who

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And so I'm waiting to get bail. And I get denied all three times. The last time I fasted, I'm like, I'm fasting for this week. You know, I had nothing else to do in there. You know, I was like, there ain't no good food anyway. So I'm like fasting. I'm like, you know, my relationship nothing else to do in there. You know, I was like, there ain't no good food anyway. So I'm like fasting. I'm like, you know, my relationship with Jesus was insane in prison. You know, just everything is taken away from you.

It's just total focus, you know? And so I'm fasting, fasting, and I'm praying. And I go to my last court date just for bail. I'm not even trying to, I'm not even finding my case yet. So they said, no, the judge. The third time. The third time. I said, no mas, no, no, no. finding my case yet. So they said, no. The judge. The third time. The third time. I said, no mas.

No, no, no. I just spoke Spanish. No more. No more. You, you, you can't, you, you don't qualify for bail. So my lawyer walks up to the, to the, to the bench and talks to the lawyer, to the judge and says, hey, I don't know what they said till this day. She comes back.

She's like, we got it. And I'm like, oh, my gosh, miracle. So then she gets it. And the judge says, OK, you got bail, $450,000. What? Yeah, $450,000 bail. And you're going to come out with an ankle bracelet. Yeah.

I got bail. I fought my case. And because I did so much good and with a bunch of friends, the judge says, hey, Em, we love you. We really like you a lot. There's nothing else we could do for you. We're going to give you five years. So getting to the story where I met my wife, I get five years and they say, hey, you want

to self-surrender now? Well, you got one month to go free. It was a court date i got sentenced yeah and you're nervous you know i'm about to get sentenced in federal court yeah something that if the judge goes crazy she could go you know what uh she can give you whatever she wants she's having a bad day she can change everything yeah she can change everything so she gives me she gives me five years got sentenced five years. And that was a miracle. You know, I was, I was good with five, you know, in my mind, in my heart, I go, God, I can handle five. You know, I'm still young. You know, I was 20, 21. I was 21. Yeah. You were only

21 years old. Yeah. So I got 20, I got, I got five years and he gave me a month to self surrender so I'm like I'll take the month and I had to self surrender myself to that place but before like a good Latino they threw a party you know so my friends threw a party at this place in downtown it's awesome

we played music that day and I see this beautiful curly haired girl, and I see this beautiful, like, curly-haired girl dancing. And I'm like, she's super pretty, right? And I'm thinking, but I'm like, I can't talk to nobody. I'm about to go, you know? So then I saw her. She sees me.

She's Latina. So she comes up to me, right? Let's go, Cristina. She comes up to me. But when she comes up to me, but she says she pulls my pant leg because I'm on stage and she says it sounds terrible and I look at her and I'm like

what? I love her I love her she says it sounds terrible because my friend Jeremy was like on one of the the percussions and he had been drinking a little. So he wasn't right, you know, so it was off.

Yeah. And so Christina says, hey, can you, you guys turn it down? She wasn't trying to like hit on me or nothing, you know. But I saw her and I said, my response was, do you want to dance? And she says, yeah, I want to dance. So I put her up on stage and it was like a stage slash like friends like we're all up there and we're hanging out and um it was like a incredible like latin space uh in downtown san diego that that my friend owned it

and we're having a good time and then um we danced all night. We danced all night. And she says, you tricked me because you don't want to dance no more. I'm a colder German. That German side, man. I'm not a huge dancer, but she loves to dance. She's the most beautiful and most gorgeous person in the world. She's my miracle. She waited for me the whole time I was in prison. The whole time. was in prison. When he told me.

The whole time. I can't. When he told me yesterday, I literally got up to walk around. I was like, no, she waited for you? That must have got, honestly, that must have made it so much easier to be there knowing you had her. She's my angel. She held it down. No, she held it down.

I mean, that is like the most classic story. How often could you see her? Check this out. She wasn't even a believer. Really? Nothing. No faith. Wow.

It's good at her core. Nothing. Yeah. She lived with her aunt in Encinitas, and her aunt was completely atheist. Yeah. And she was so far from anything religious. Yeah. And so when she meets me, I went, so we, I said, can I get your number?

And she said, no. And when she said no, I'm like, I like this girl. That's me too. I like her. But then I'm like, now we talk about it. She's like, hey, she stands with me. Hey, I didn't give you my number because I thought you weren't going to call me. And I'm like, well, of course I'm going to call you. So, but initially I felt like she, so we exchanged numbers.

We exchanged numbers. Like here's our numbers. Cause we really were interested in wanting to talk. So I took her out the next day. Wow. Yeah. And I can't wait for you guys to meet her one day. She's amazing.

She's a hero of my story. She's a hero of our family. She's the rock. She's amazing. We've been married for 15 years. I didn't know how to keep a relationship for eight months. I had no male figure, which we can talk about. I had no male figure on what is marriage, what is relationships, how do you date? I had no godly father. I mean, when I was 15 years old, my father brought me a prostitute to become a man. That's really normal in the culture. And I sat with that prostitute and I said, tell them I did

it. And I didn't do nothing. No way. Because I was so afraid. Yeah. But I was also my grandma's prayers. Yeah. Because I would have been distorted at 15 with this prostitute which who knows what i would have happened to my soul a hundred percent you know and so i sat with her and actually like we became friends and i would go visit her i was 15 i was such a good i was in bolivia and i would go i was i had like these moments in my youth where I would go live in South America with my dad. And I would come back and just, you know, broken family, you know, trying to figure it out. And so I didn't have a father figure. So when people try to use that as an excuse, we have a heavenly father.

And to me, having people in my life like Pastor Erwin, his greatest gift to me is not that he's a great communicator. His greatest gift is not that he's an amazing leader. His greatest gift to me is that he's still married and that he's a great husband and that he says, I'm going to be here for my children. Yeah. And he's the best dad. Yeah. He's the best pastor. He's the best friend for me. You know, like what I needed in my life.

And so for me, it's like, oh, he could do it. I can do it. Yeah. And I'm going to break any spiritual curse upon my family so that I can, my children can see, hey, dad stayed. Absolutely. Because I got three boys and I want them to be the best husbands. Yeah. You know, but you have to teach them.

Yeah. So I wasn't taught, but my heavenly father is teaching me, mentors in my life are teaching me. I'm always trying to become a better husband because my wife deserves it. My wife needs a godly man in her life. Guys, we are so excited for this one. You already know who it is. It's HelloFresh, America's number one meal kit. Farm fresh, pre-portioned ingredients delivered right to your doorstep. A crazy schedule can make it easy to fall back into your dinnertime recipe rut. With HelloFresh, you keep mealtime exciting with over 40 recipes to choose from every

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way you're going to prison so i'm trying to tell her i messed up but how do you tell someone in the month like i'm trying to prove that i'm a good person but then in such a short space i gotta say i'm actually an ex-convict you You know, like, how do you say that? And she said, you're crazy. So I'm trying to tell her that I went to prison and she doesn't believe me. So I changed the story. And I said, well, I'm going to go visit my dad. So then when I left, I left to go visit my dad.

I didn't go to prison in her mind. So then I'm writing. So then I left to go visit my dad. I didn't go to prison in her mind. So then I'm writing. So then I left. I left and she gave me a gift. She gave me a gift to open, like open each gift like once a week. Wow. She gave me this gift. She's like, I don't know how long I'm leaving for.

I'm going to go see my dad. I just made up the story. Yeah. Because I'm like, am I ever going to see her again? Yeah. Like, is this over? I try to tell her I'm going to see her again? Yeah. Like, is this over? I try to tell her I'm going to prison, but she's like, you don't even cuss. Yeah.

Because I didn't, you know, we always joke around because I didn't have tattoos before prison. Yeah. And now I'm all tatted up. But she's like, you didn't even have tattoos. You know, you were a good. I'm like, wait, tattoos are bad? Yeah, I have a question about that. They might represent.

We'll talk later. So then I go to prison and she thinks I went to Bolivia. And this is like, my sister, I can call home because you're only allowed to call where you're allowed to call. You can't just like sit there and call your boys. You have to approve numbers. Yeah. So my sister was approved. So I called my sister.

She's like, Emerson, Christina keeps coming to the house every Tuesday and we love her. But when are you going to tell her? She didn't even know. She didn't even know. I can't believe it. And she's like so good with kids and she's such a good person. And she'd go there, drive an hour to see my family. You know, she's in Encinitas.

She goes to Chula Vista. And she's spending the whole day with them and they love her. And every Tuesday was like family dinner day in our house. And so everyone loves her. And then a couple months pass, I would write, Chris, this is crazy. I'm ashamed, but we're going to go. We're open today. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I would write Christina letters to my sister's house. She would take it out of the envelope, put it in another envelope, because anything that is written from prison has to say prison. Yeah. I can't, nothing can come out of like where I was and not say like where it's from. They won't let it go out, you know, cause you can't hide. And so my sister would take it out and she would put it in another, another envelope. And then one day my sister's like, she, I think she's here to stay. Like she's not never leaving. And when are you going to tell

her? So finally I said, Hey, I can't have my sister keep lying to her. So like a couple of months of that. And I called Christina. I said, hey, can you tell her I'm calling on Sunday and have her be there? So since she calls, I call. I call my sister's house. And she passes the phone to Christina. And I said, hey, I'm not in Bolivia.

I'm actually in federal prison. And she says that her first thought was, I'm going to marry your next convict. That was her thought. Look at that. I can't handle it. That was her thought. This is a college-educated, beautiful, like, she don't need me. That's a rider.

Like, she does not need me to complete. No, nothing. She's completed. She, she's an incredible, powerful woman, you know, like had a job, made good money, had her own apartment. Like she was set. And so this guy comes along and she, and then she tells a story and she says, there's something different about Emerson. And so that's why I always tell people, be careful who you judge. Yeah. Because people say, oh, you know, everyone in prison, you know, is trash. No. You'll be lucky that you didn't make it to prison.

Exactly. Because you should be there too. Yeah. A hundred percent. You know, how many times did you drive drunk and you shouldn't have drunk? Exactly. How many times? Like, don't judge.

Please. It just didn't happen to us. Thank God it didn't happen to you. But there's people that are. God spared you. God spared you. But there's people that are good in there. I met doctors in there that made a mistake.

Yeah. I met people that, hey, tax evasion, whatever. Yeah. Whatever. Like, they're just good people that made a mistake. And God can use that. And that's the story of Jesus, right? Yeah.

He uses us broken. And our best stories come out of being authentic, you know? So Christina waited for me. Yeah. And then she became a believer while you were there, right? So, no, this is so... So then I'm trying to tell her about Jesus. Okay. So can you imagine this? Like I'm in prison. So she'd come visit me and I would say, hey, Christina, did you read my letter? She's like, yeah, I read it. She's like, did you read the last part? And every letter I would say, if you want to receive Jesus, say this prayer.

But she would ignore it. And then when she would come visit me, she would say, stop asking me about that part. I don't want Jesus. I want you. And so one day I said, you can't have me without Jesus. I'm in prison. What am I saying? You know, like I'm about to break up with this girl and she's like my angel because we were best friends. It wasn't physical. It couldn't be physical. Our dates, I couldn't even, I mean, our visits, I couldn't even touch her. It was very limited, you know, but I could see her and we could talk and we could write.

Lots of writing. We became best friends through writing. Obviously, I already had kissed her already, you know, before I left, you know, like I knew, we knew that side and we were convinced, you know, of this love. But in prison, it was just not physical. You had to grow that connection. You just had to grow that connection. The way that God intends for us to. Yes, deeper, you know of this love but in prison it was just not physical you had to grow that connection the way that god intends for us to yes deeper you know so then she would say can you stop asking me about that last paragraph because every single time i would say say this prayer i go have you said it she's like i don't want to say it because she was so law-abiding. Like my wife won't even cross the street in the wrong spot.

She's like to the T, does everything. She's the one on the Enneagram or if you know Enneagram. She's like just super organized. Everything's set, you know. So I ended up being in this visit and I said, hey, do you want to receive Jesus? He says, no, don't ask me again. So I said, we need to break up.

So I broke up with her. And so can you imagine like she leaves and she's crying and I'm crying. And like, we just can't be together. Because I knew that I didn't want to be with somebody that didn't have my same faith. I knew it was going to be with somebody that didn't have my same faith. I can't. I knew it was going to be trouble. Yeah. I knew it was going to be a headache.

Yeah. You know, people say like, do you think it's a good idea? I go, I think it's a bad idea. Yeah. Why? Because it's going to be, it's already hard. Relationships are already hard. Yeah.

You know? And so when you make it harder, it's just going to be tough, you know? So we broke up. So obviously I called her right away because I'm like, this is crazy. I made a big mistake. I said, hey, can we keep talking about this? Can we figure this out? She's like, yes, I get it.

You know, I just don't know. She wasn't where I was. My faith, I had these like encounters with God young, you know? And so I felt called to serve young. Like I had this other experience and I'm trying to rush her to something that she doesn't really know. And plus I'm in prison,

you know, my credibility is kind of low. So, so, so then she comes back and she says, Hey, um, she says, how are you so happy?

You're in prison and you're happy. She said, I'm free and I'm so depressed and I'm so anxious and I get to leave these walls. I get to leave you and you're locked up and you're happy. And she said, I'll never forget. She says, you have a sparkle in your eye. And I said, man, if there's a moment, God, this is a moment. I said, the only reason I'm happy is because of Jesus. The only reason I have a sparkle in my eye, even though I'm in pain, even though this hurts, even though this is degrading,

I have to go back from this visit and they're going to get me buck naked, you know, and I'm going to feel like an animal, but I'm happy because nobody can cage my spirit. Yeah. You know? And she said, well, if that's Jesus, I want him. And we got on our knees in federal prison. Oh, my God. And we prayed. And so she's praying to accept Jesus.

Was it the salvation prayer? Yeah. We're losing our minds. So she does a salvation prayer. She's like, I want Jesus in my heart. I go, that's the only thing I can explain. And I knew we needed that as a couple. We needed that foundation, that mission.

Like you guys talk about, you know, in your podcast about relationships and like you got to have a mission to where you're heading towards. You know, it doesn't mean you're perfect. Doesn't mean it's going to be awesome all the time. No, but something holds us true. And for me in our relationship, it's just been Jesus. Yeah. Well, this is what I think about when people say, can you, cause obviously God tells us we can't be unequally yoked in a relationship and especially in a marriage. And I always think that it's not even that, like, obviously nobody's below you if they're not a believer. But if you're not a believer and I am, we're simply not living in the same truth. Like Jesus is my truth.

He's the truth. So how can we be together when we have different truths? That's right. It's impossible. You know? Yeah. And it's just going to create problems that, you know, everything from like, how do we raise the kids?

Yeah, exactly. Where do we go? I've seen it. I've seen it. I counsel people through that. Yeah. You know, and so for me, it's like, it's the best to try to avoid that. Absolutely.

Especially on the spiritual side. Yeah. Because you're never going to, like, no matter how far away you get from God, there's always just going to be that foundation of like, I just know something different, you know, and I know it could be something better. Even though you might go far, you might not be living the way you're living. But on our first date, I wasn't really where I was supposed to be.

On our first date, I told Christina, Jesus is the most important thing in my life. And she's like, I just met you at a nightclub. She didn't say that out loud, but she thought about it. Yeah, yeah. You know, because she tells me now, she's like, I just met you at a nightclub. She didn't say that out loud. But she thought about it. Yeah, yeah. You know, because she tells me now, she's like, this dude's telling. But you know what she said when I said Jesus is the most important thing in my life? She said that my value went up.

Yeah. She's like, I saw you different. A hundred percent. Like I saw a man I wanted to be with. Yeah. Even though she didn't understand. It took her a while to accept him. Yeah.

Because her thing was like, I'm already good. And she is good. Yeah. And sometimes it's hard for people that are so good to say, why would I need Jesus? Yeah. Like, Jesus is just for alcoholics. Jesus is just for, like, drug addicts. Yeah.

Or Jesus is just for prisoners. No, Jesus is for my wife. She's never done anything bad. But she still fell empty. She fell empty. Yeah. I have so much respect for somebody like Christina who, because it's almost like people who, for example, I am going to be four years sober next month. Congratulations.

Thank you. So I went through a very, very, very painful, dark, scary time. That was my rock bottom. And the truth is I should have gotten into a lot more trouble. I should have burned a lot more bridges, but God spared me from a lot. But the internal battle that I was facing was bad enough for it. That was my rock bottom. But that's what pushed me there. Somebody like Christina, who she doesn't really need a reason to, if she's great, good she's fine you know what i mean so i have so much respect for someone who could put themselves out there and on the line the way that

she did to be like i'm gonna try this anyways you know she wasn't forced into it i think that's a really beautiful level of faith yeah it took us it took us uh it took us years you know and i wasn't going anywhere yeah you know i'm locked up And so we were able to talk about it. And so I was patient with her. You know, I let her walk her own steps. But moments where I, as a man, you know, God also calls me to be a leader. Yeah. You know, and so it doesn't make her less.

It doesn't make me more. It's just different responsibilities. And I think we need men to lead, men to say, hey, this is where I want to go. And if the person says no, great. Then it's a no. But we need to be men that say, hey, this is my faith. Like Jesus is important. I might not be perfect right now, but I know this is where I want to go.

This is where I'm heading. I had no idea I was going to be a pastor. I had no idea we were going to change. We are changing the face of Mexico. You are revolutionizing. It's a revolution. I had no idea we were going to change. We are changing the face of Mexico. You are revolutionizing. It's a revolution. This doesn't happen in Mexico. And so Christina waited for me for about a total of three and a half years. So I got sentenced to five years and I was locked up for three and a half. So I got out on good time and we were able to reconnect for three and a half. So I got out on good time. Yeah. And we were able to reconnect after three and a half years.

And we got married. You know, I said, there's nothing. People ask me all the time, like, how do you know? Right? That's probably a huge question. Yeah. How do you know? How do you know?

And I'm just like, it's just something so unexplainable. But when you know, you just know. Did you know right when you met her? I knew right when I met her. I knew this is the one. Because nobody else compared. Nothing else compared. It was, this is it.

And now I had other opportunities. I had other stuff. But nothing was so powerful like this relationship you know and it wasn't because she waited for me it wasn't because when i got out we we dated you know and we still had trouble and we broke up and we were trying to figure it out you know i'm trying to like reconnect with society right you know which is a whole nother a whole i wish we had more time because i have so many questions about prison. I have so much questions about your mental health during that time and about all that. I just have so many questions. No, I want to know as, as a man of God, what are some things that you do

to keep your relationship God-centered and just strong? Yeah, that's a good question. And you know, one time I was walking at Costco with my wife. I love Costco. Yeah, I love Costco. When we moved to Mexico, it was really hard for her. You guys need to meet her. I can't wait. She has to share her story.

You guys said that at the same time. She's wearing the same outfit as me. But she's such an incredible woman. But we were, and it was so hard. Her journey in Mexico has been very hard. Yeah. Because men and women are different. You know, like I adapted different.

Yeah. In my mind, my makeup is we're going to go, we're going to conquer this and it'll be awesome. Yeah. And thank God, like things went awesome. But it was so hard for her. And it was really. She left her family and left everything you know so our psychologist because we go to a psychologist and we get counseling and we are big believers in that

you know so he was just saying hey she's experiencing a death wow like she lost her country let her mourn yeah because i'm like let's go like things are going awesome babe like the church is growing we have all kinds of friends. And our counselor said, you guys are experiencing the weight of success. Wow. He said, everyone prepares for failure. Nobody prepares for success. And you guys have no idea the weight that you're living.

And you assimilated a certain certain way and she's just like doesn't know what to do there was time when she would just stay in the room and cry and i had to walk down and pretend things were okay and i had to walk down to to 60 liters and tell them like we're going to conquer the future and i couldn't even conquer my relationship yeah but i had to be patient i had to walk with her. But we're at Costco one day and I say, hey, I need a man in my life. And she says, what? I go, I need a man. And she's like, don't say that too loud.

I said, I just need a man in my life because I need a mentor. Yeah. And so to answer your question, men need mentors. Men need men in their lives to be real. I can't tell you how much I need my pastor in my life, how much I need my friend Mario in Mexico in my life that's older than me, how much I need Pastor Diego that's part of our community. Like men that go, hey, how are you? Yeah, so important. Are you okay?

Because you look okay. Because you don't open up as a man. Yeah, because I'm busy. Who do I talk to? Yeah. You know, so I know how men can feel and maybe sometimes shut down. I think I got it together. You don't got it together.

So true. You probably still have dad issues. Right. You know, something happened in your life. And even if nothing happened you just need a guy and you need the boys they need brotherhood we talk about it all the time so i would say mentor like a strong mentor like that's real yeah like people tell me all the time like wow you got the best pastor i'm like pastor is awesome but he's strong yeah like he lets me have it i'm serious like there was a season where he was like hey you know what you're not traveling no more wow and i was like but this is fun and i

was like the latin american new pastor guy like you know he he i'm getting speaking engagements i'm traveling i'm going places and And he's like, nope. Wow. You know? Wow. But that was so good because you know what he said? Be with your family. Yeah. When I call him, he doesn't want to hear numbers.

He doesn't want to hear the growth. He's like, how's Christina? How are the boys? Yeah. And so I need that in my life. And I try to be that in people's lives. So I came to LA. I'm here visiting.

I came out for the arena you know and so uh i don't never roll alone everyone knows that about me i'm actually staying at a friend's house and i feel so bad because he probably thought it was just me but six of us oh that's hilarious it's hilarious you know because like m is m's gonna come with guys yeah because just to have people pouring to me are pouring to others and so i'm trying to build these guys and spend time with these guys and tell them, like, this is what a man of God looks like. You know, yes, there's just so much confusion and there's so much talk these days of like, the man's not needed, the woman's this, the woman's that. I'm like, wait, let's get back to the basics. We could go on about this.

We could, you know. For so long. And for me, I'm just like, we need to be men of character. Yes. We need to be men that know how to stay. Stay. I just don't stay in my head. You know, and that just plant a flag and say, hey, I'm going to be a father.

I'm going to be a boyfriend. I'm going to be a husband. I'm going to be here. Yeah. And then when things get hard. I'm not going to give up. I'm not going to give up. And that to me is like, these mentors are so important. The most important relationship in my life,

obviously, is my connection to God. So Jesus, I want to reflect to you. Jesus, I want to look like you. Jesus, let me be empathetic to you. How would you treat your wife yeah even though you weren't married but now you're inside of me and how do i treat christina you know i tell people christina's like honey like this is a whole nother episode you know but she's like you know she's like you don't look sexy with your tank top she says you look sexy when you take the trash out yeah she's like you look sexy when you pick up your my girl look sexy when you pick up your shoes. She's like, because your tank top doesn't turn me on. Yeah.

What turns me on is that you're a man that's serving his house. Yes. That you're a man that's making his home safe. Yeah. You know, that you're going to protect us. Yeah. Your body, she's like, it's okay. But she's like, I just want to know that you're going to be a man of his word.

Yes. You know? It's all we need. Give time to your children. You know, be there for your kids. I'm like, they only have a certain time, you know, and they're going to grow up. So that's what I would recommend, you know, and that's something I practice in my life is just being surrounded by men, godly men,

and also be careful with the men that you surround yourself that are just not good for you. Exactly. Because that is so influential in your life. It is. Where I'm like, on this trip, one of the guys that came, he just had a son yeah we walked into a store and we both immediately went to the toy section wow you know

because I'm like oh now I got my boy the other guys went to go see the golfing stuff you know and sports things and I'm like with my boy Sergio and I'm like I'm so glad bro you had a baby because now you get me yeah I'm in the toy section because I'm buying stuff for my kids. It's not about me no more. It's about my children and my legacy and my descendants. God, I have so many questions. Jared is waiting for us. I want to ask you how to overcome.

I just, there's so much. Honestly, he freed, I know this freed so many, including myself, by the way. You freed me as well. I mean, this story touched me in ways I can't even, it's beautiful, beautiful testimony. Yeah. Wow. The way you come here and you do in your sermons and you go on stage and you go and you pour your heart out on there. You don't just go up and preach and say the same rhetoric that everybody does.

You put your heart into everything. that everybody does. You put your heart into everything. You have Jesus all over you and you are just such an incredible representation of what a godly man should be. God bless you. God bless your family. Thank you for everyone that you help in this world.

Thank you so much. You're such a blessing in this world. Thank you. Thank you for what you're doing and how you're impacting. I'm really inspired. Thank you so much. God bless you. Thank you so much. God bless you impacting. I'm really inspired. Thank you so much. God bless you.

Thank you so much. Guys, we hope you enjoyed that. Pastor Emerson at Mosaic. We love you guys so much. We love you so, so much. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May he turn his face towards you and give you peace, peace, peace, peace, peace.

God bless you. We love you peace, peace. God bless you. Love you guys so much. God bless you.